McLaren Sets Up Young Driver Programme for GT Division

Wylie and Watson are looking forward to their new journey with Woking (Image credit:

The newly-established McLaren GT Young Driver Programme, which was
unveiled at the recent Autosport International Show, has been introduced to
help young drivers to further apply their learning skills and better their
knowledge in the world of GT racing.

GT Racing has become more and more competitive as the amount
of manufacturers involved has increased accordingly, as the Woking manufacturer
now brings its new 650S GT3 out on track. Customer teams will be seen in this
new track-focused machine this year, which had a successful debut in the Gulf
12 Hours that brought McLaren’s GT program in 2014 to a competitive close.

The two young hotshots that now become the first to join of the
ranks of this new initiative, are Scotland’s Ross Wylie and Northern Ireland’s
Andrew Watson, who will work with the Woking-based outfit, along with McLaren’s
existing factory drivers, Rob Bell, Kevin Estre and Alvaro Parente.

McLaren GT Managing Director, Andrew Kirkaldy is the man that has
been leading the way to search for prospective young talent from our shores
that can be given the chance to further their careers.

Kirkaldy, who was also a former racer, has also won the McLaren Autosport BRDC Award, is looking forward to helping future superstars in their careers: "The GTracing scene is as exciting now as I can ever remember, and there is a huge amount of talent on every grid week-in week-out, so it can be difficult for young drivers to get on the first rung of the ladder to show their true potential.

“This programme is
designed to offer young drivers we feel have something special a chance to show
what they can do behind the wheel of a GT car, and also work closely with our
drivers, engineers and technical teams, giving them access to many years of
race- and championship-winning experience at the highest levels.”

Both Wylie and Watson
will take part in the extensive development of the testing schedule of the new
650S Sprint and GT3 throughout this season, as well as helping with driver
tuition for the Pure McLaren track driving experiences. They will also be able
to have access to the different aspects of the business, which ranges in many
different facets, that includes media training and simulator testing and much
more.

Wylie, who hails from
Dumfries, won the British GT4 Championship last year, is one of the latest crop
of talent that hails from the same area as sportscar legend Allan McNish. The
23-year-old, who made his way through racing in the VW Racing Cup and the VW
Scirocco R-Cup, is looking forward to working with Watson during the season.

“I am extremely
grateful for the opportunity to become involved with McLaren, which is such a
famous name in motorsport, and to have access to the people, technology and
levels of support, both on and off the track, is a dream come true,” said the
Scottish driver. “I look forward to working with my new teammate and the whole
McLaren GT team this year.’

Watson, who has made
his progress through the Ginetta programs, which includes the Junior and GT4
SuperCup championships, as the 19-year-old was leading the 2014 series and
eventually placed in the top five overall at the finale at brands Hatch last
year.

“I am thrilled to
have been given such an opportunity with McLaren GT. I have been working hard
to improve and progress my career over the past few seasons, so to have this
recognised by McLaren is a real honour,” said the Belfast-born driver, who
hopes to help the team progress with the new 650S GT3. “This is while I also
gain valuable knowledge and experience from one of the most famous names on the
grid to take my career to the next level. I look forward to working with Ross
and the rest of the team in 2015.’

Over the coming
weeks, further information will be provided about what the McLaren GT Young
Driver Programme is, as well as the plans that they have with regards to where
both Wylie and Watson will race this year. The best of British Motorsport is
definitely doing its part to give something back to future generations of
potential world champions.